The next phase in civilisation: post-scarcity through open-source design and advanced automation

We are nowhere near the height of human civilisation - not even close. Our
present culture is conditioned by centuries of scarcity that ought to have
disappeared by now considering our technical capabilities. However
automation is surging forwards in terms of sophistication and ability, and
in parallel we are developing ever more effective ways of collaborating and
openly sharing knowledge. This means it will become increasingly
unacceptable to let needless scarcity continue in the face of what is
possible - new thinking and tools are emerging that could change everything.
Via the internet a new fluid grouping of minds is evolving that is adhoc,
distributed and mutually sharing - a system that is potentially far more
effective at problem-solving and creative technical development than
anything that has come before. This is the new enlightenment. In some areas,
notably software development and knowledge gathering, it is well under way-
but this is just the beginning. These 'open' peer-to-peer activities are
about to burst out into the physical world enabling us to do things both
technologically and economically that have not previously been feasible.